


Like petals on the ground

by Vampiric_Charms



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Again, F/F, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, and lots of fluff, but it's mostly comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:20:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25166095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vampiric_Charms/pseuds/Vampiric_Charms
Summary: JJ happens upon Emily in a rare moment of vulnerability and tries her best to help.  When Emily does not turn her away, JJ finds herself in a place she thought she had left a long time ago.
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Emily Prentiss
Comments: 14
Kudos: 140





	Like petals on the ground

**Author's Note:**

> Set any time after Emily becomes unit chief. Take your pick of seasons.  
> (Also, if any of you have any jemily requests, hit me up here or on tumblr!)
> 
> Enjoy!

It was only just after six o’clock when JJ finished her last report and put it neatly in the corresponding file with a sigh of relief, glad to be done finalizing the case they had just closed. Everyone had left except herself and Emily, who had been closed in her office since four thirty with the door shut and blinds drawn.

JJ pushed her chair back from the desk and stretched her arms over her head for a few seconds. Not waiting any longer to get out of the building while she could, she turned off her computer, locked the file drawer, and grabbed her phone to shove in her purse before standing to leave. She might actually get home in time for family movie night for the first time in weeks. An absolute miracle.

She took the short flight of stairs to Emily’s office two at a time. “Em,” she called, knocking twice on the door with a knuckle. “I’m heading out. You want to walk down together?” 

There was no response to her question so JJ knocked again. She waited a moment and opened the door, more confused than concerned. It was dim inside, the computer monitor off and only a muted desk lamp lighting the large space. Emily wasn’t at her desk.

“Over here.”

JJ jumped at the voice and spun around to find Emily lying on the couch curled on her side, the scarf she had worn that day pressed over her eyes with one hand. She had taken off her suit jacket and shoes, a thin blanket from the back of the sofa pulled over her instead. The decorative pillows had been pushed to the floor.

“You okay?” JJ asked, closing the door hastily to block out the fluorescent light from the bullpen.

“Just a headache,” Emily replied softly. She sounded tired and withdrawn, and JJ studied her carefully, trying to suss out more information without prying. Emily must have been able to feel her stare even with her face covered, and she said, “A migraine. Just - resting a bit. Can’t drive home yet.”

“Oh.” JJ dropped her purse on the desk beside Emily’s and came over to sit on the edge of the coffee table in front of the sofa, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. Emily hadn’t mentioned anything about migraines before, and seeing her in so much pain when she had been fine earlier was a bit disconcerting. “I didn’t know you got migraines. Is this new?”

Emily was quiet, and JJ noticed as she took a deep, controlled breath and let it out slowly. Then again, in and out. “Yeah,” she finally said, very soft. “It’s new. Ish. Started in Paris.”

“In Paris?” JJ repeated, taken aback by the unexpected answer. “You mean, after -” She cut herself off, unable to continue. But, as she always did, Emily heard the silent and tense question, forging ahead with her customary bravado even through her obvious pain.

“The neurologist I saw when I got back,” she explained breathlessly, “he thinks it’s because my brain didn’t get enough oxygen during the Doyle thing. You know, when I died in the ambulance.”

It was the most she’d said since JJ came into the office, and the words were like tiny thorns through her heart. “Longest ninety seconds of my life,” she muttered, frowning.

Emily didn’t say anything to that, instead continuing with a vague simplification that didn’t make JJ feel much better. “Not dead long enough for major damage, but still enough to give me these. Combined with all the other times I’ve been knocked in the head - yeah.”

She fell silent and JJ just sat there, watching her with a stale fear she thought she had gotten over long ago. Emily shifted a little, just enough to flip the scarf covering her eyes over, so the outer side was pressed against her face instead. JJ noticed a flash of blue between the folds of fabric - a gel ice pack. Emily had an ice pack in her scarf.

“Don’t let the unsubs hit you in the head, Jayje,” Emily groused roughly, a hint of her normal humor under it. As if she could tell JJ was upset and wanted to alleviate her distress, however distant. “It only ends in bad things. Bad, bad things.”

JJ chuckled obligingly and leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees. “Is there anything I can do?” she asked. “Medicine, ginger ale?”

“Nah,” Emily replied indifferently, and JJ understood by her tone that she did, in fact, have pain medication somewhere that she would likely refuse to take. JJ reached out and ran a comforting hand over Emily’s hair. Emily sighed, slowly pulling the scarf and ice pack away from her face. Her eyes were so dark, so familiar, and JJ smiled at her.

“Are you sure?” JJ whispered.

Emily was quiet for a long few seconds and JJ was certain she would decline again. But then she gave JJ a lopsided grin, one that almost looked embarrassed, and said, “I have a really bad knot in my shoulder, I can’t reach it. Could you - ?”

“Sure, of course!” JJ agreed before Emily could continue her halting question. “Sit up, let me get behind you.”

A relieved expression came over Emily’s face and she slowly levered herself up into a sitting position, half leaning against the couch. She was holding her breath against the pain, letting it out in a sharp huff as soon as she stopped moving. JJ quickly sat on the sofa, wedging herself between Emily’s side and the armrest. She took the ice pack and scarf from Emily’s loose grip and set them on the table, out of the way.

“Here,” JJ murmured, helping Emily shift enough to lean sideways against JJ instead of the sofa. “I’ve got you, you can relax. Your shoulder, you said?” 

Emily nodded. JJ ran her hand over Emily’s back, up and down twice, and then started gently prodding at her shoulder blade to search for the knot. It was easy to find, in the smaller rhomboid muscle close to her neck. Emily took a quick breath through her nose and JJ knew she had found the right spot, that it hurt. Trying not to cause more pain than necessary to work the muscle loose, she dug her fingers in. 

“How long have you been sick tonight?” she asked, more than a little displeased with herself that she hadn’t noticed the change when it happened. “You seemed okay a few hours ago when we were on the plane.”

“I dunno,” Emily said tightly, eyes closed and breathing controlled again against the jabbing of JJ’s fingers. “What time is it?”

“After six thirty now,” JJ told her.

Emily muttered a swear and shook her head in a frustration JJ recognized. “I didn’t - didn’t realize so much time had passed. Like I’ve been lying here forever.”

They fell into silence, broken only by Emily’s breathing and JJ’s sporadic questions, which she quickly gave up on. The knot slowly gave way, enough that Emily told her to stop, and JJ moved her hand instead to run her fingers through Emily’s hair in a way she hoped would be meditative enough through the repeated motion to help her body calm down. Emily leaned against her fully this time, back pressed against JJ’s chest and her head falling to rest against the front of her shoulder.

“You okay?” JJ whispered again, close to Emily’s ear. Emily just hummed an indistinct affirmative, her eyes still closed. She turned her face into JJ’s neck, and she wondered if Emily was even aware of the movement or if her subconscious was only seeking comfort because she didn’t feel well.

Refusing to think about it, JJ reached for the discarded scarf-wrapped ice pack and pressed it over Emily’s eyes and forehead. It was only barely still cold. She wished she had another to swap it with, the way she did when Henry skinned his knee or twisted his ankle. She kept passing her other hand over the side of Emily’s head or through her hair, giving her something to focus on that wasn’t painful. The small sofa couldn’t be comfortable for her, especially now with both of them crammed together on it.

“Do you want me to drive you home?” JJ had a good idea what the response was going to be, but she asked anyway. Emily would feel better in her own bed, they both knew it. It was just a matter of her accepting help when she was so vulnerable. “I’ll pick you up in the morning, too; you can leave your car here.”

Silence stretched for several seconds, but then Emily sighed, the breath warm against JJ’s neck. “Yeah,” she murmured. “I want to go home. Just give me a minute to convince myself to move.”

“There’s no rush,” JJ told her. She tossed the now-useless ice pack back onto the coffee table and wrapped her arm loosely around Emily’s waist instead, still combing her hair with her other hand. Her boys were expecting her sooner rather than later, but they’d understand. They always did. 

It was quiet again and JJ thought for a moment that Emily had fallen asleep even though they had just talked about leaving. But she felt a flutter against her skin, Emily’s eyelashes as she blinked a few times.

JJ tilted her head so the bottom of her cheek rested against Emily’s temple. She could smell Emily’s shampoo, familiar and comforting. “Do you want me to stay with you tonight?” she asked quietly, realizing she was pushing her luck on Emily letting her in behind the barricades she always had around herself. She couldn’t help it, though, and added, “I’d hate leaving you alone when you’re so sick.”

As expected, Emily quickly turned her down. “No, no, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. Isn’t it family movie night?”

Before JJ could say anything, Emily was pushing away from JJ’s hold, biting her lip against the pain she still felt as she sat up and swung her feet to the floor to slip into her shoes. “You should go home, Jayje,” Emily continued, standing unsteadily and looking around for her scarf and coat. “I can call a rideshare. Go be with your boys, I bet they miss you.”

“Stop being so stubborn,” JJ snapped, mostly joking with no venom in her words even if Emily’s sat heavily on her chest. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

Emily didn’t protest again, and silently accepted her purse as JJ grabbed both of them from the desktop. JJ turned off the lamp, casting the office into darkness. “Here,” she said, reaching into her bag to pull out her sunglasses. “The building is really bright. Wear these until we get out of the garage. It might help.”

“Thank you,” Emily said softly, taking the sunglasses and slipping them on. JJ adjusted Emily’s scarf around her neck, held up her coat so she could put it on without difficulty. After confirming Emily had her keys and phone, she opened the door. Fluorescent light immediately spilled across the floor and Emily turned her face away.

“Sunglasses aren’t enough,” she cried suddenly, familiar sarcasm coloring the outburst. “Jesus, my brain feel like it’s on fucking _fire_. Abort.”

JJ couldn’t stop the little laugh that burst from her mouth and she smiled. “It’s not far,” she told Emily consolingly. She looped their arms together, tugging her out of the office and into the intensely lit bullpen. “I’ll guide you. Let’s go.” 

Surprisingly, Emily did not pull away from JJ’s grasp on her arm, instead allowing her to lead them both through the room and to the elevators, to the car. Emily kept the sunglasses on even after they left the garage, the setting sun still enough to hurt her eyes. JJ stole glances at her every minute or so as she wound through the city streets toward Emily’s home.

“You sure you don’t want me to stay?” JJ asked one more time after she parked.

Emily gave her a fake glare that quickly turned into a little smile. She closed her eyes again, slipping off the sunglasses and putting them in the cupholder. “Don’t worry about me, Jayje,” she muttered. “I just need some sleep. I’d be horrible company tonight, anyway.”

“You’re never horrible company,” JJ told her, grinning slightly when Emily glanced at her again.

“Thanks, JJ.”

Her smile widened at the affectionate tone of Emily’s voice, a tone she heard far too rarely, and JJ reached across the center console between their seats to grab Emily’s hand tightly with her own. “Text me if you need anything, okay?” She squeezed their hands together as if sealing an unsaid promise. Emily nodded at her, accepting the unnecessary request, and brought their hands up to press a quick, sweet kiss to JJ’s fingertips. A gesture she hadn’t shown in a very long time. JJ swallowed, the tenderness of it startling her more than she expected.

She thought she had let that go. She was suddenly very wrong.

“Thank you,” Emily said again, releasing her hand and getting out of the car. Keys were already out, ready to go inside.

“Feel better. I’ll see you bright and early, Em.”

JJ watched as Emily went up the stairs and entered her building. Still she sat there, waiting to see a light turn on upstairs. Finally, after longer than she needed to wait, she turned the car back onto the street and drove home, toward her family.

Very wrong, indeed.


End file.
